Kiva - April 2015

It's been a while since I've funded a group loan and this one jumped out at me as a great initiative; I'm a big supporter of empowering people.

Langalanga Organic Farmers Self Help Group (Kenya)

A portion of Langalanga Organic Farmers Self Help Group's $225 loan helps a member to buy farm inputs such as seeds and fertilizer that will help boost her harvest.

The lady raising her hand in the photo is Jane. She is married and blessed with seven children. She joined Hand in Hand Eastern Africa (HiH EA) in June 2014.

Jane is a farmer of maize, beans and potatoes. She is grateful to HiH EA for developing her entrepreneurial spirit through training and mentorship. This has enabled her to pursue farming as a business, unlike before, where it was predominantly for subsistence.

She is borrowing a Kiva loan to buy farm inputs in readiness for the upcoming planting season. She hopes that with better seeds and fertilizers, she will get a bumper harvest at the end of the season, enough for her family consumption and to sell, which will enable her to support her family needs and education for her children.

Jane is grateful to Kiva and its lenders for their support. She promises to repay the loan promptly.

At the time of this writing, this loan is 33% funded.  It's easy to get involved today, with this loan or another of your choosing.

Kiva - March 2015

Oops!  I just realised that I missed sharing my March Kiva loan so here's a little belated update...

Geoffrey (Kenya)

A loan of $275 helped Geoffrey to buy a dairy cow to enable him to supply milk to get more income to pay school fees for his children.

Geoffrey is 24 years old, married to Mary, and they are blessed with two children. He is a dairy farmer and this has been profitable for the last five years he has been in this business.

Geoffrey has applied for his first loan of KES 25,000 from Vision Fund Kenya to buy a dairy cow to enable him supply milk and get more income. He plans to use the generated profits to educate his children and to expand his farming by buying farm inputs.

His future hopes are to expand his farming business and be successful.

Happily, Geoffrey's loan is now fully funded but you can still get involved with another entrepreneur on Kiva today!

Kiva - April 2014

Well, another month is quickly drawing to a close so it's time for another micro-loan donation on Kiva.  A quick browse through the listings and this one jumped out at me.

Salome (Kenya)

A loan of $350 helps Salome to purchase an irrigation kit.

Meet Salome, a mother of 10 children, who has been farming for the last 40 years. She comes from Eldoret, home to many famous Kenyan marathon runners. She makes money selling milk, eggs and vegetables from her farm. Her real passion lies in horticulture despite the challenges she faces with the high inputs involved.

Like typical smallholder farmers, Salome cannot access formal financial solutions from the bank. She has teamed up with a couple of local women to form and register a group that might be recognized by some micro finance institutions. With an untamed ambition and a clear path to success, Salome is seeking a loan to buy an irrigation kit to water her vegetables.

The adoption of this kit will ensure a constant provision of water for her plants, even during the dry season. Crop yields are also expected to rise significantly, leading to more income for Salome to cater to her home expenses. With your support, Salome is going to grow into a formidable entrepreneur and raise the living standards of her children.

At the time of this blog entry, Salome's loan has been 57% supported and has $150 USD funds to raise to completion.

If you would like to read the full details of Salome's story and perhaps even add your support, you can read her Kiva loan request here.

Kiva - February 2014

Last month I shared with you my New Years Resolution for 2014:

Once a month, support a loan on Kiva.

You can read about my January lender story in this post, which also has a brief description of what Kiva is all about (in a nutshell, $25 USD donations to micro loans).  Needless to say, it's a great and worthwhile cause and I've loved being involved even after just two months.

Well, February has come and gone so it was high time I decided on a new lender to support.  I'm really excited about this initiative - partly because of the purpose of the loan and partly because this is one of a series of new loans that are repaid through a new 'carbon credits' system, which is linked with helping encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint.  It's like a win-win system on top of an already win-win system!

Christine (Kenya)

A portion of Christine's $1500 group loan helps a member provide communities with free access to chlorine to treat their drinking water.  This health initiative will help to prevent water-borne diseases, which often cause residents to be unable to work or attend school.  The use of chlorine will also remove the need to first boil the water, thereby reducing the village's carbon footprint.

At the time of this blog entry, Christine's group loan has been 21% supported and has $1175 USD funds to raise to completion.

If you would like to read the full details of Christine's story and perhaps even add your support, you can read her Kiva loan request here.

I really cannot say enough wonderful things about Kiva.  Sound interesting?  Please join me!